Over at Falling Fruit (Fallingfruit.org), two programmers have created a global foraging map that shows that allows you to find fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries and lots of other healthy edible plants in public parks, urban farming projects, lining city streets, and even hanging over fences (and, therefor, onto the public domain of sidewalks) from the UK to New […]

When news broke two years ago that Sydney, Australia would be home to the world’s tallest and largest urban/vertical gardening project, I had some doubts– and I would have bet money that it was vaporware. It was a scam, I was sure- a thing that was so awesome that it was not ever going to […]

Green roofs and rooftop farming are some of the latest buzzwords of green architecture, but the guys behind Something & Son in Folkestone, England are taking it a step further. They’ve set up an advanced aquaponic system on the roof of their building, and they’re using the fish to help raise potatoes. In other words: […]

North Carolina’s city of Asheville is the most recent town in our nation to create a Food Action Plan. These sensible strategies address difficult issues, such as food deserts, community health, food insecurity, nutrition knowledge deficits, barriers to local food production and distribution, as well as food sovereignty. The plan was approved 6-0 on January 21, 2013 by the city council; this legislation will play an active role in improving healthy food access, and will also help to build a more sustainable local food infrastructure.

This summer as you bite into unique varieties of luscious, ripe, delicious seasonal fresh fruit from your local farmer’s market, please take a moment to be thankful for the many unique seeds that still exist, as well as for the people who take the time to save them.

You can read about the heroic ongoing efforts to save our food heritage in a National Geographic story entitled “Food Ark”. Here is a brief excerpt from the recently published article about the work that Diane Ott Whealy has invested into creating an extensive seed exchange:

Even as the world prepares for the grand climate meet at Copenhagen this December, a large part of South India has gone under water. And while talks have already begun on coming up with an equitable deal and the very fear that there may be none, over 300 people have already lost their lives while […]

You may not have heard of Ug99 yet, but, if its rapid spread continues unchecked, chances are you will not only be hearing about it, but you’ll be paying for it too. That’s because this fast-spreading strain of the fungus that causes stem rust–a seemingly unstoppable plant disease–is now spreading around the globe and threatening […]

In San Francisco, over 150,000 people live at or far below the the poverty line, and are in desperate need of food aid; in 2008 the food bank alone distributed 33 million pounds of food to local hungry residents, many of whom are seniors and children.

San Francisco’s Food Security Task Force has just released information showing the huge increase in numbers of people needing food assistance and the growing strain that is being put on food relief agencies. Hunger is soaring and donations have been droppping. Food pantries have seen a 13.5% increase in need from the year before. During the federal fiscal quarter (Jul., Aug, Sep) of 2008 Glide Memorial Church alone saw an 18.9% increase in the number of meals served from the previous year. And our economy is continuing to decline; unemployment in the Bay Area is nearly in double digits.

A recent article published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research measures and maps the racial disparities in neighborhood food environments. Do communities of color have less access to healthful food sources like grocery stores and farmer’s markets?

I was walking home the other day and noticed that a short stretch of road smelled of rosemary. On doubling back, I discovered that someone had planted herbs along the previously bare median in my Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood: rosemary, lavender, cilantro, and basil. Guerrilla Gardening is a movement that got its start in the 70’s […]

According to a few under-the-radar reports, Korea’s industrial conglomerate Daewoo has just completed a deal with Madagascar for a 99 year lease of an area half the size of Belgium (about 1.3 million hectares). While complete terms of the lease are not yet available, the total price is: NOTHING. The initial plan is to plant […]

Almost a third (28%) of South Africans have not heard about global warming or climate change while over a half considered their knowledge as “hardly anything” or less. The Human Sciences Research Council, a South African parastatal, conducts human sciences research in support of the growth and development of the country. Their 2008 South African Social […]

According to a recent Reuters report, China will miss its 2010 ethanol as fuel target. This is because China is not relaxing control over non-grain feedstocks, at the same time as restricting ethanol production through grain. “We are unable to meet the ethanol target. The major reason is because of a shortage of raw material,” […]

We already know about the myriad of problems around the world caused by drought, water delivery restrictions and inadequate access to clean water. And we’ve already heard the argument that global warming is to blame for such water shortages. A report recently released by the advocacy group Transparency International provides another reason for the global […]

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